topic Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer? in ArcGIS Field Maps Questions

Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

Caitlin_Todd_LCOR — Fri, 15 Apr 2022 17:02:32 GMT

Hello all,

I'm hoping this functionality is available in ArcGIS FieldMaps and I'm just missing where to configure it.

I have a 1:M feature layer between Sites and Inspections. I'm developing a map for field crews to go out and add new inspection records to sites. BUT, I cannot allow them to add/delete/update locations of sites.

I tried restricting editing to only allow for attribute updates, but that also removes the ability to add new related records in the inspection table.

Is this workflow possible in ArcGIS FieldMaps right now? Is it on the roadmap sometime in the near future?

Thanks!

Caitlin

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

JoséDanielGoigocheaPinchi — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 20:13:42 GMT

Good afternoon, this is my case too, it is important to know where to restrict editing to the main table and be able to add related data.

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

GarethBaker1 — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 08:56:16 GMT

As far as I'm aware any editing settings on the feature service as a whole (such as the allow attribute editing only) will apply to all layers in the service as you've discovered.

One way to do this would be to just disable editing for your sites layer within the map. It's not ideal because the same layer added to any other map is still editable by default but better than nothing. I'm guessing there are probably enhancement ideas out there to have the editing controlled at the individual layer level rather than the whole service.

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

Anonymous User — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 16:39:52 GMT

Why not just remove all the editing forms for the parent layer when you configure the field map? The layer would technically still be editable, but you would not be able to access the edit screen in the field because FieldMaps is configured without that option. I have a point layer with related table and I only allow the option for field workers to update 1 field on the point layer, but can create as many related records as they want.

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

Anonymous User — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 18:17:59 GMT

Hosted feature services in ArcGIS Online support this configuration, it's not exposed in any UI though (it's tentatively planned for later this year). There are some steps you can take via the admin REST API to enable and configure this. Let me know if you are interested in these steps and I can write them up and post it.

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

Caitlin_Todd_LCOR — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 14:54:23 GMT

Thank you everyone for your insights, after some googling and clicking around the AGOL map viewer I eventually found where to turn off editing on the parent layer. I would prefer to set it on the service itself to keep things straightforward and not have to document which maps had which configuration on the same service, but this is a good work around. Thanks Zac!

I had tried to connect a Survey123 off of the related table, but that workflow involved some extra clicks that users wouldn't be too happy with. I have a related question with more information here FieldMaps Form Calc not applying edits after Survey123 submission . But with this workaround I'll be disconnecting the Survey123 piece and using just FieldMaps.

Aaron, that's great to hear it's on the roadmap to allow hosted feature services to support this kind of configuration, I look forward to seeing the update!

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

Caitlin_Todd_LCOR — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 16:59:34 GMT

Found a bit of a catch 22, any form expressions on the parent layer won't fire if there was an edit on the related record. So the parent layer would need to be editable for at least attributes only. Then the user would have to edit the parent point, wait for the form calc to run, then submit the edit.

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

AlexVideka — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 18:44:56 GMT

Hi Aaron,

I would very much like to see a write-up detailing how this can be done through the API. Our County use case is we want related inspection tables to be updated but we want to limit field operators' ability to accidentally create new assets.

Kind Regards,
- Alex

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

AlexVideka — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 18:47:28 GMT

Hi Caitlin, I read through and tried Zach's workaround but found app users could still drop new points and create new assets. Was your experience different? I would greatly appreciate any further detail in how you managed to get around the creation issue.

Kind Regards,
- Alex

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

SvenBuchmann — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 15:37:52 GMT

In case someone else comes across this issue and wants to deactivate editing of the parent Layer: Select the parent layer in Map Viewer and disable Editing under Properties. In Map Viewer Classics click on the three dots next under the parent layer and disable Editing

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

StefanUseldinger — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 14:44:24 GMT

Thanks! It seems, that this option is missing for (related) tables. So I added the property manually in the map config:

"capabilities": "Query",

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

kawakawa4 — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 23:05:58 GMT

Hi, I'm keen to know how this is done as well please.

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

KadinBaird41 — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 19:48:11 GMT

I would be very interested in seeing the write-up on the steps to complete this process as I am trying to set up a new app for my field users and would like to restrict them to only adding new related records. Thanks!

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

Amanda__Huber — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 17:54:47 GMT

This doesn't quite work for the new map viewer. With this setting, editing is completely disabled for both parent and related table.

In order to edit the related table (and see the edit button) you need to have editing enabled on the parent point layer.

That being said, back to the initial post- we need the ability to add/update related records but not allow parent layer geometry edits. Currently in the new map viewer and JS 4x instant apps, I don't see this capability.

Thanks,

Amanda Huber

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

Amanda__Huber — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 19:28:56 GMT

This is the behavior we're seeing as well.

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

Amanda__Huber — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 21:21:02 GMT

Alright ya'll after hours of testing this, I think I found a workaround for this issue:

In ArcGIS Online MapViewer, access the form settings for your parent point layer.
Add a 'text type' field to your parent point layer form (it can be any field that already exists in your dataset).
Set the max length of that field to be "0" and make the field required
Set the visibility of this field to be "GlobalID is EMPTY"- since global IDs aren't generated until an edit is submitted, this will ensure it shows up when trying to edit a point and doesn't show up on your related records form

Now when users try to edit the parent point they are unable to and receive this error.
Alas, they are unable to enter anything into the required field because it's restricted to ZER0:
(tested in both Map Viewer and Instant Apps)

I fully acknowledge this is a super stupid workaround but it works, and solves the problem.

Ideally Esri should look into this issue, and create a workflow for those who only need related records editing (and not the points) but that's a different challenge.

Hope this helps someone out there!

Best,

Amanda Huber

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

Zrobinson_SFPUC — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 16:24:19 GMT

I've posted this as an idea for Esri to review if it gets enough Kudos. Please up-vote if you can!

Restrict editing to related table only in Feature ... - Esri Community

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

HeatherBell — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 10:59:39 GMT

Hi, I tried to use @Amanda__Huber 's workaround, but it didn't work for me.

I created a view layer specifically for Field Maps.
I managed to use map viewer classic to switch off editing for the parent layer (e.g. sites), and leave editing on for the related records (inspections). This carried through to Field Maps. However, it didn't carry through to the map if a user opens the view layer in the new map viewer, so it seems users could still edit this information if they go via this route, unless editing is restricted at the fields level. Also I don't think you can stop them from adding new points to the parent layer, unless you switch off editing completely. This is a problem for us because we get users to add data to the parent layer through Survey123 because we have a unique ID and other information which is pulled from a separate 'projects' layer, and I'm not sure that we can achieve the same thing through FieldMaps or through the map viewer yet.

Not ideal, and still needs improved settings around this for related records. Basically any kudos on the idea above is going to be useful, it's a critical part of the workflow for inspections data within Field Maps and other apps.

Thanks,

Heather

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

RPGIS — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 20:17:34 GMT

So there is another simple work around that we are thinking of implementing.

The method I came up with is to have a related table with editing disabled. It will still allow users to view the attachment but not edit the table.

Re: Restrict editing to related record only; not allow adding new features to parent layer?

apgis16 — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 17:02:54 GMT

I have a survey123 layer with a repeatable section in it (which produces the related table in the hosted feature layer). I have URL parameters in a text element in the popup for the user to click on the link and open up the form in S123. However, it still technically lets the user add to the related table in Field Maps even when i don't have it show in the form or in the templates that I configured in the web map. I don't want the user to be able to edit the related table through that way, is there a way to hide it?